A variety of book ends or book supports have heretofore been provided for supporting books on a shelf. Among the most commonly utilized book ends are metal T-shaped book ends. These book ends typically have a base portion which is slid under an end book of a row of books and an upright support perpendicular to the base located in the center of the base portion which contacts the outside cover of the end book to support the books in an upright position. A problem with this type of book end is that, unless it is positioned squarely against the books, it is not able to support a row of books in an upright position. Thus if a book is removed from a row of books the book end must be repositioned squarely against the end book or the books will tend to slide and tip the book end. Another deficiency with this type of book end is a problem which is referred to as "knifing". Knifing occurs when a book is carelessly reshelved and the exposed closed pages of the book are forced against the upright support portion of the book end. If the upright support is relatively thin, as in these book ends, the upright support will knife through the book and tear and fold the pages. Another limitation with this type of book end is that, to support large or heavy books, different sized book ends with larger base portions must be utilized.
Clip-on book ends are known that engage the edge of a book shelf to varying degrees. Especially with metal book shelves, a clip-on book end have a problem obtaining a firm grip on the shelf because of the thinness of the sheet metal coupled with the flange or channel commonly formed at the shelf edge to provide reinforcement. The clip portion of a clip-on book end is opened only slightly when engaging the sheet material of the main shelf area and accordingly the grip is quite weak. Under such circumstances, a clip-on book end may tend to skew under the lateral pressure exerted by a row of books.
Some early attempts were made to provide a clip-on type book end such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 305,863, 452,673, 575,294, 679,054, and 767,037, but these apparently are not being used commercially at the present time.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved device for supporting books on a shelf or the like.
Another object of this invention is to provide a simple, durable and highly versatile book end that is usable on bookshelves of different widths and thicknesses with the book support and base portions readily fabricated as a one-piece molded plastic unit.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a book end for supporting books on a shelf that can be readily secured to the shelf and having a clip-on base constructed and arranged to resist the weight of the books and maintain the book-contacting support portion and books in an upright position.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a versatile book end with an upright support for the books that is constructed and arranged to prevent knifing of the books during reshelving.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece book end characterized by the use of a clip-on base portion with an integral clip section opposite and spaced from the bottom and to one side of the geometric center of the book support portion with a gripping surface of greater lateral extent than an opposite surface along the bottom of the support portion to resist laterally directed forces on the support portion.
An important object of the invention is to provide a clip-on book end that resists skewing under lateral pressures, expecially when the book end is applied to a formed metal book shelf of the type having a flanged edge.